Anybody else had an older baby with reflux?

[Laura032004]

Just wanting to swap experiences with somebody else. DS2 is 8m now, nearly 9m, and things don't seem to be getting any better.

Laura - my DS is also 8 months and he is still as sicky as ever - he has never been diagnosed with reflux (mainly cos he never seems to be in pain) but he pukes at the drop of a hat and possets up milk constantly between feeds.

Not sure if this will help but he is the same as he ever was - certainly no better!!

That can be silent reflux if they're not in pain. Think that's right anyway. Have you ever brought it up with the GP or anything?

Laura, my friend's ds is 13 months and has just dropped to one dose of Gaviscon a day in the last couple of weeks. The sickness has been easing over the last few months and he's hardly ever sick now. It has seemed endless for my friend but he's definitely come out of the other end of it. It made a big difference when he started walking but I'm not sure why or if that's the case for all reflux babies.

My youngest reflux came to light when he was 6 months and was at its worst about 8 -10 months , finally grew out of it about 15 months when he was walking 100 % of the time.

A bloody horrible time , just when you thoght he had a good meal down him he would bring it back up !

I eventually got referred to a pediatric dietian , perhaps it migt be worth seeking a referral if not done already .

Not a very nice time in our lives but I am glad to say that he is now 4.5 yrs and a good eater.

my two are now 6 and 5 but my dd had reflux for a long time - certainly until she was walking (so around 13-15 months).

When she was about 2, we discovered she had a hernia as well which could have been complicating matters.

I thought silent reflux was pain without the puke iykwim - my friends DS has been diagnosed with it as he was in pain all the time but never sick - my DS is the exact opposite.

Laura - is your Ds sick all the time?

Ceebee74 - yes, I think you're right.

DS2 is sick probably about 20+ times a day. Most of the time this is just a small amount, which doesn't particularly bother him. Once or twice a day, it will be a significant amount, and will leave him very distressed. We haven't properly weaned him yet, as contrary to what all the docs say, food makes his sickness work. After eating any solids (whatever it is from puree to finger food), he will be violently sick at some point from immediately afterwards to hours later. He is usually really miserable in the meantime until he is sick.

We've tried gaviscon with no effect. He doesn't like being spoon fed, and will normally just throw the Gaviscon up. We've also tried motillium (domperidone?) and ranitidine, which haven't helped. With the second two, the vomiting is delayed, but happens eventually, and is worse for him when it does.

He hasn't had any weight gain problems - 98th centile at the moment, but he's feeding a lot (fully bf), including hourly in the night.

It has changed over time - he used to throw up dramatically several times a day before we weaned him, but this has decreased. However, he is meant to take antibiotics every day due to a kidney problem, and these used to make him sick, but we've stopped them now, so that might be why he's not sick so often.

He won't even take Calpol or Nurofen, so teething has been fun. At our last hospital appt, we got prescribed some suppositories for pain relief, which is great.

The hospital basically said try the meds and come back if it hasn't stopped by the time he's one. However, they wanted us to feed him solids three times a day, which I'm really struggling with, partly because he won't be spoon fed at all now, and because I feel really cruel when he's miserable and sick afterwards.

my dd's reflux was still quite bad at 8 months but was almost completely gone by a year so have faith!

Glad to hear that walking helped things. Hoping he'll be an early walker, as he's started pulling himself up on things now, so I don't think it will be long before he's on his feet.

Foxinsocks - how did they discover the hernia? Did they treat it?

I think one of my main concerns is that as his symptoms aren't typical (OK weight gain, solids not helping, meds not working), that it isn't just reflux, and that I'm not being a very good mum by not pushing them to find out what it is.

Did anybody else have problems introducing solids?

Oh Laura - sounds awful and you have obviously tried to do your best with him.

My DS is exactly the same (which confirms that I think he might have reflux) - solids make him so much worse so I have completely cut back to one small meal (porridge in the morning) a day at the moment.

The only difference is that he doesn't seem to suffer - he vomits either straight away or hours later - but it doesn't bother him at all.

A bit of history - DS had pyloric stenosis when he was born which makes babies constantly vomit all their food up (he had an operation at 8 weeks to fix it) so I do think vomiting has become second nature to him hence when it doesn't bother him in the slightest.

We had a 4 month period where he only ever possetted - no projectile vomiting after bottles etc which was lovely - but since February and the introduction of solids, it has got so much worse again. The only way I can keep it mainly under control is to just give him milk (which he is perfectly happy with as he is not a hungry baby).

Sorry to ramble but it is nice to know that it is not just DS - although you seem to have it much worse as your DS is suffering with it aswell.

Ceebee - an op at 8 weeks, that must have been awful for you. DS had a kidney op at 6m, and that was bad enough.

Has anyone said they're worried about your DS not eating much? The paed we saw intimated that he might never eat solids if we missed the 'window of opportunity' to start him on them. I'm more worried that he'll associate eating with pain and vomiting.

It was awful but it is a distant memory now and tbh, we were just glad that it was diagnosed and it could be fixed - unfortunately, we seem to be back at the start again now as we are still constantly on edge wondering when and where he is going to be sick.

I don't know if you feel the same but I find it hard to feed him out and about - I feel uncomfortable about the mess he can make when he pukes (at home, we catch it in a bowl but I feel a bit self-concious doing that in public).

The window of opportunity thing appears to be a load of b*ks - see this thread that I started about it as I was worried too here

DS2 who's now 2 1/2 had reflux till he was about 11 mths. He used to be sick on a good day about 12 times & on a really bad day about 30+. He was on gaviscon, domperidone (motilium) & ranatadine none of which ever seemed to work. One day just before he was 1 we realised he hadnt been sick all day & it had just stopped as suddenly as that! Now he's 2 1/2 it really does seem a distant memory although at the time I nearly had a breakdown!

Thanks for that link - very reassuring. DS has also had a bug for 6 weeks now, and I'm not sure if he is coughing because of this and then being sick, or coughing due to the acid, then being sick. He's also throwing up a lot of mucus.

I've only ever fed him finger food when out, and only done that 2/3 times. I'd hate him to be majorly sick in public, as it usually involves a complete change for all involved Thank god for leather sofas

Right, have a naked DS2 on my lap, and need to change my bed (guess what just happened!!!), so I'll end here for tonight.

Oh dear Laura that happened to me on Tuesday night - had to change the duvet cover (king size) by myself as DH was away

Our lo's sound very similar - particularly with the coughing - I can't decide if the coughing causes the vomiting or the vomiting causes the cough iykwim.

I just keep hoping that one day it will miraculously clear as some of the others have said it does.............

Nightmare isn't it! I change all my bedding most nights. We have a hippychick bed protector and an M&S mattress protector on the bed to stop the vomit soaking through. When I'm on my own (DH in the Navy so away 4ish nights per week), I have beeen known to chuck a couple of towels on the bed and just go back to sleep. I also put folded up cot sheets under DS, so if I'm quick enough, I can just whip these off, and put another one under him without having to change all the sheets. We have spare duvets, so I don't often change the duvet cover in the night. And I keep a supply of babygrows in the bedroom so I don't have to go far. Mad isn't it!

Well hopefully it's the coughing causing the vomiting. Then when their colds go.... a miracle will happen! DS can just vomit at the drop of a hat, so maybe it's just that band of muscle being weak. I can't leave him to cry for more than a minute, or he gets upset, coughs and is sick.

I think I've decided no more food until this coughing stops. Then at least he's got a hope of keeping it down.

Hi Laura - sorry to hear you're having to deal with so much on your own!

Your situation sounds remarkably similar to what mine was like when dd was that age!

I'm afraid to say that still, at age 5 and 6, mine can both vomit at the drop of a hat and any heavy cold/cough situation still produces results . I'm SURE that his cold/cough will be making the vomiting A LOT worse - even just being full of mucous with no cough can make reflux substantially worse.

In terms of no food till his cold/cough stops, I would swap to non gagging food - so not finger food but smooth purees just till he's feeling better. That way, he's still getting some nutrients (which he probably needs) but hopefully, they've got more chance of staying down.

Is he still having a lot of milk? Coupled with the starting to walk (which I think was the major turning point), I think having substantially less milk (at that age) made a difference too.

They diagnosed the hernia because she had a lump in her abdomen (it was an epigastric hernia).

Laura - it really does sound like you are coping with a lot - fortunately if Ds is spectacularly sick, that is pretty much it till the next feed (apart from little bits which don't make too much mess) - and as long as we manage to catch it in the bowl, there is no mess

DH is also away 4 nights every week at the moment so I do sympathise with you - I do struggle to relax, even when DS is asleep as I am always listening out for him coughing and then rushing in to check that he hasn't vomited.

I do try and see the positives - DS is a fabulous baby, always happy, happy to play by himself most of the time, has slept 12 hours a night uninterrupted from about 4 weeks and even now, even if he has big coughing fits in the middle of the night, he still sleeps through it, settles himself to sleep with no problems - so I do feel lucky and I guess some people have non-sleeping or clingy babies - I happen to have a pukey baby.

Laura - are you a SAHM? I work 3 days a week so I do get a break from constant 'vomit' watch as DS goes to nursery - and it is nice to have that break and let someone else clear up the mess (That probably sounds awful).

Dealing with reflux is tough - a nightmare in fact. My DS had silent reflux when he was younger - he is one now and has been off the meds (Losec) for a couple of months.

The feeding problems aren't over yet though as he has been really difficult with solids. He doesn't like baby mush - he will deal with lumps ok if he is feeding himself but will gag on a spoonful of mush. His consultant said this is quite common in reflux babies - it is a matter of confidence building - he told me not to worry too much about it and I have to accept that DS is just a few months behind on the solids. I have just finished reading a great book called 'My Child Won't Eat!' by Carlos Gonzalez. It is very reassuring!

We had trouble getting DS diagnosed when he was younger and he eventually had to be treated for failure to thrive as he got a food (milk) aversion and dropped to the bottom centile.

If you live near London I can recommend a great paediatric gastroenterologist - I can't tell you how relieved we were after we saw him - he was the first Doc to actually say "yes there is a problem" and reassured us that he could fix it!

Eli - my friend also struggled to get a diagnosis of silent reflux - she had problems with her DS from day one - always crying, wouldn't sleep etc - but it was always put down as colic etc - it wasn't until her DS started losing weight and developed a milk aversion that it was diagnosed - along with a dairy intolerance - the minute she changed to soya milk, he became a different baby - although he is 7 months now and they still struggle to get milk down him - fortunately he will tons of solids so is thriving again.

Hi laura
What an utter nightmare this whole reflux thing is! I really sympathise - at one point I bf my 4 month old every 1 - 2 hours day AND night! Have managed to stretch this to approx 3 hourly but he still only stays on for 9 - 10 mins at a time and I constantly worry that he is hungry. He has silent reflux which is hardly any vomiting, just pain after feeds. At his worst point, just before diagnosis, he would scream every 10 minutes for days at a time. Even now on all the meds he is still only putting on approx 3 - 4oz a week and is more unhappy than happy .

He has also had a really chesty cough for about 5 days and an outburst of coughing often coincides with him straining to fill his nappy - has anyone else had this with their baby?? He seems to have developed bad constipation and will strain until I think he's going to explode! By 6ish in the morning he is squirming about in his cot, and by about 7 he finally poos!!
He still has nothing whatsoever in the way of a sleep pattern even though on a good day I try to convince myself otherwise. Today he only slept for half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon.

My instinct is still telling me that perhaps breast is not best and that he could be allergic to something in my milk, but I have no way of knowing if he would actually be worse on hypoallergenic formula. Anyone else felt this way?? Eli - did you ff or bf your baby?
Laura - I cannot believe that there is a 'window of opportunity' for weaning!? I have seen a few consultants and some of the things I have been told have completely knocked my confidence as a new mum, so I have had to trust my instinct instead. One paed suggested that I 'leave the baby to cry' or 'try putting him in the car seat' which he absolutely hates as it scrunches him up and brings up the milk. Anyone with experience of a reflux baby knows you could never, ever leave them to cry!!!!!! I am still desperately trying to find a consultant who really understands the condition and can help my baby.
I hope you have a good night - I find sunday nights particularly depressing as another stressful week seems to stretch out ahead of me!
Before I go, anyone who's interested, I did start up another reflux thread called 'reflux baby' but I'm new to mumsnet and don't know how to put a link here. So glad to have found this site - it's so reassuring to chat to you all

love hippydips xx

hi laura
our ds2 is 8months next week and although im still mainly bf he has 3 soya formuals a day 3 days a week at nursery. while he has his formula he always has reflux after. he has to have regular changes of clothes there. it used to occur quite a lot wth bf but as we now know about his dairy intolerance i have cut all dairy from my diet and he has improved about 75%.

i used to be able to express for him at nursery but after having mastitis and thrush in the breast i havnt been able to for a month or so, which i feel really bad about but the pain was just to unbearable. so for a while he has to try to make do with the soya.

we have just been sent an appt with a paed dietiticn (?spelling??) and hopefully we can work it out as it does get quite distressing at times.

sorry if i have just rambled on, it's past my bead time!!lol

Think its always good to hear about someone who had come out the other side.
My son is now 6 and has been off his meds for a year. He wasn't particularly uncomfortable with it, although it was causing bad chest infections, hence the need for medication.
He was terrible with lumpy foods - I had to cut his raisins in half if they were big. He loved mashed banana and avocado even at 3 and was still eating baby jars at that stage. We saw a dietician who helped relieve worries about a very restrictive diet and tried toget us off the jars!
One of my most embarrassing moments was when he threw up all over a restaurant floor and one of the customers got up and left!
He is now fine (I was told it was pretty rare to still have it after 5 and even unusual at a toddler) and has a very good appetite and diet.

All the best to all of you going through it

Interesting to read this - particularly about the 'after effects' of reflux. DD is now 17 months and the reflux is mostly gone (silent, still flares up if ill or teething). However what is obvious is its effect on her attitude to food.

She wouldnt touch solids til 8 months and then it was bread (refused most of the standard purees). She is very suspicious of new foods and textures and refuses all fruit/veg (unless in a sauce) apart from avocado (bizarre!). She has a limited diet (she is still dairy free and we are also veggie) and so we still supplement with Neocate, Dalivit vit drops and Spatone for iron.

She basically has little interest in food (rarely wants to try anything we are eating) and i'm sure this is due to early associations with pain. I hope this is something that will pass with time?

alice

ps Laura - i meant to say - my DD didnt respond to meds either (tried losec and ranitadine - the losec in particular gave her wind and made her even more miserable so we stopped). We had to manage with thickener (Nestargel) - but thats not much use if you are breastfeeding. Its just been a time issue - DD got worse when she started crawling i think and prob better when walking (from just before 12 months), but teething also causes blips.

DD also pretty much refused to be fed solids with a spoon so we have been taking a 'baby led weaning' type approach with foods she can eat with her fingers.

Things that have worked well are pasta (we started with Simpsons ones from Tescos - good size to pick up and put in mouth) with a nice thick sauce, sausages and fishfingers (veggie in our case), baked beans, scrambled egg.

hth